NO HITTERS AND PERFECT GAMES

Seaver vs. Cubs,           July 9, 1969

Gentry vs. Cubs            May 13, 1970

Seaver vs. Padres          July 4, 1972

Schourek vs. Expos      September 10, 1991

Glavine vs. Rockies      May 23, 2004

Maine vs. Marlins         September 29, 2007

It took 50 years and went from the best pitchers the Mets had to the best pitcher the Mets have. A no hitter has finally arrived at Mets town!

When you look at how close they came, and over 50 one hitters in their history, it showed a pitching staff with a great tradition and nothing to show for it!

The six entries at the top are the Mets almost No-Hitters where the pitcher was in for the whole game. There have been numerous one hitters by combined pitchers, but that is not as noteworthy.

Having been at the Seaver vs. the Cubs on July 9^th, 1969 game: I can tell you it is quite an event to witness. The 9^th inning opened and Seaver got his first out. That was his 25^th straight out, no walks either, and Jimmy Qualls a rookie reserved center fielder stepped up to the plate as the crowd was on it’s feet, the thunderous applauding, whistling and jumping up and down, causing the right field upper deck to shake so violently that I feared for my life!

But what happened next set the tone of the Mets fortunes for the next 43 years to come. Qualls reached out and lined a clear single to the outfield, and when he did, all of Shea Stadium stopped short, their breath taken away and a quiet loneliness overtook a crowd of over 50,000.

When I look back, as a Mets fan the disappointment was great. Had Ernie Banks hit the ball or Ron Santo, I could have understood it, but JIMMY QUALLS? Who was Jimmy Qualls?

That’s all I wrote, folks!